The Revelation at the Jeffersonian
by DaLiza
Summary: Intoxicated Angela shares her thoughts about BB's relationship with the entire Jeffersonian, forcing the partners to confront their feelings. One shot.


Serving an abundant amount of alcohol at Jeffersonian events has always been problematic.

Several years ago, Angela consumed too much eggnog at the Christmas party and ended up photocopying her gluteus maximus. I'm not sure why such an action would appeal to Angela even in an inebriated state, but I admit that my best friend's motivations are often a mystery to me.

The following year, two Jeffersonian employees (I don't remember their names) had too much to drink at the Fourth of July barbeque and set off homemade fireworks inside the Jeffersonian, severely damaging their offices. Thankfully, the medico-legal lab was unaffected.

At a ball for the benefactors a few years later, Dr. Shaw in the Authentications Department became extremely intoxicated and made sexually suggestive remarks to me. When I told him that I had no interest in him as a sexual partner, he grabbed me inappropriately and I, reacting on instinct, fractured his wrist. Booth heard about the incident afterwards (he hadn't been able to attend) and seemed to feel guilty that he wasn't there to 'protect' me. Since then, he has insisted on accompanying me to every Jeffersonian event.

Given these prior instances, I shouldn't have been surprised that history repeated itself at this year's Jeffersonian Thanksgiving Dinner.

Booth and I were sitting next to each other at one of the many round tables set up in the Jeffersonian's Banquet Hall, which had been decorated with orange and brown streamers and cartoon depictions of turkeys. Hodgins, Angela, Cam, Michelle, Sweets and Daisy sat at the table with us. While Booth and I discussed our last case over the delicious feast, Jeffersonian employees were going up to a microphone at the front of the hall and talking about things they were thankful for. I didn't know any of the speakers, so I had no reason to stop my conversation to listen.

Then I heard Angela's voice over the microphone. It startled me because I hadn't noticed that she had left the table. "I am thankful for so many things this year. I'm thankful that my friend Zack Addy was cleared of all charges in the Gormongon case and will soon be returning to work at the Jeffersonian."

Everyone at our table applauded. I turned to Booth and smiled to show my gratitude for his part in exonerating Zack. He had said that he did it as a favor for me.

"I'm thankful that Hodgie--Dr. Jack Hodgins to the rest of you-- and I got back together. We'll be getting married next year. We'll have a real wedding this time, I promise! I am so lucky to have found someone who is so kind and sweet…and a really fantastic lover. You would not believe how many times we've done it in the Egyptian Room. Probably dozens."

As laughter from the surrounding tables echoed around us, I realized that Angela wouldn't have been talking about her sex life so freely unless she was intoxicated. Looking around the table, I observed that Hodgins seemed understandably embarrassed. Sweets and Daisy also looked uncomfortable, although I'm not sure why. Booth and Cam appeared to be disgusted, while Michelle seemed confused. I tried to explain the situation to her but was stopped by Cam.

"And I'm always thankful for my best friend, Temperance Brennan, who got me my job here, and her hot as hell partner, Agent Sexy Booth, who would do absolutely anything for her. And I mean _anything_--the man took a _bullet_ for her. He is so completely in love with her; you can see it in his eyes every time he looks at her. If she asked, he'd go to the Egyptian Room with her in a nanosecond."

Several people throughout the hall applauded. I rolled my eyes, wondering if Angela would ever accept that Booth loved me only as a friend and partner. I imagined that Booth was rolling his eyes too, but when I looked at him, I saw that his face was unnaturally red and he was staring at the floor. Before I could ask him if he was alright, Angela continued.

"I wish she would invite him to the Egyptian Room. God knows it's been ages since she's been with anyone."

"Angela!" I shouted, standing up abruptly. My colleagues didn't need to know about my admittedly uneventful sex life.

"Sorry, Brennan, but it's true. Just get together with Booth already! It's obvious that you love him too. You write about having sex with him in your books--and don't say Andy Lister isn't based on Booth because he so obviously is-- and then last year you wanted to have his _baby, _but instead of doing it the right way you--"

The rest of her sentence was lost as Hodgins pulled her away from the microphone and brought her back to our table. "I'm sure Angela will be very sorry when she sobers up," he said. "I'm going to take her home."

"Why do we have to leave, Hodgie?" Angela said as Hodgins escorted her to the exit. "I didn't say anything wrong!"

I turned to Booth, who was still looking at the floor. I followed his line of sight but didn't see anything worth staring at. "You're uncomfortable. Do you want to leave too? We can get a drink at The Founding Fathers."

"Sure," he mumbled, his eyes still not meeting mine.

As we walked towards the exit, Dr. Shaw approached me and whispered: "I'd be happy to help you end your sexual drought."

I recoiled at the smell of alcohol on his breath. "I am NOT interested, Dr. Shaw." Had he forgotten that I could break his wrist?

Booth, who had been walking slightly ahead of me, turned around suddenly. "Dr. Shaw? The guy who harassed you at the benefactors' ball?"

I was impressed that Booth remembered his name. "Yes."

Booth glared at Shaw and lifted up the edge of his jacket to reveal his holstered gun. "You leave my partner alone _right now _or I will shoot you. Understand?" Shaw muttered an apology and quickly backed away from me.

"You didn't need to do that, Booth."

"I know…but it made me feel better."

We were both quiet for several minutes as we walked out of the Jeffersonian and into the parking lot. Eventually I was the one to break the silence. "I know the things Angela said about you weren't true; I know your feelings for me are strictly professional."

"Right." He was silent for a few seconds, then he sighed. "Wrong."

I was confused. "Which is it?"

He let out a long, deep breath. "Angela was right."

"About you wanting to have sex with me in the Egyptian Room?" That would be a problem. I liked the idea of having sex with Booth, but I wasn't willing to compromise ancient artifacts.

"No! About me being…you know…" He trailed off. "In my head I always imagined this going much more smoothly."

"You imagined what going more smoothly?"

He finally looked at me. "The first time I told you I loved you."

"You love me…in a non-professional way?" I hoped that was what he meant, but I needed to be sure.

"I do, Bones. I have for years. And I should have told you long before Angela announced it to the whole Jeffersonian."

He sounded so dejected that I placed my hand on his. "It's okay, Booth."

"No, it's not. I've been a coward."

"If you were a coward, then so was I. Angela was right about my feelings as well."

He stopped walking and turned to me. I'd never seen him smile so broadly. "You love me?"

"I do, Booth," I said, echoing his earlier words. "And I have for years." He gazed at me for several moments, looking happy but unsure of himself. "You can kiss me if you want."

He gently placed his hands on my face and gave me the most passionate kiss I'd ever experienced. "That was…" I found it difficult to select a proper adjective because the feelings Booth had aroused in me had temporarily overpowered my intellectual capabilities. "That was exponentially better than our mistletoe kiss."

"I wasn't holding back this time." He flashed me his charm smile.

"Do you make love as well as you kiss?"

He blushed. "Honestly, it's been a while…a long, _long_ while…but I remember I used to be really good at it."

"You're a very attractive man, Booth. It can't be difficult for you to find sexual partners. Why haven't you been with anyone in a 'long, long while'?" I thought I knew the answer, but again I needed to be sure.

"Because I've been waiting for you."

I kissed him again. "You don't need to wait anymore. Do you mind if we skip The Founding Fathers and go to my apartment instead?"

"Anything you want, Bones." He grabbed my hand and we started running to the SUV.

Twenty minutes later, we were in my apartment. Less than five minutes after that, we were in my bed. Our 'Eventually' had arrived at last, and it was everything I had hoped it would be. Actually, that's not entirely accurate--it was even _better_ than I'd hoped. Booth has incredible stamina.

He fell asleep with his arm around my waist. I would have resented the possessive gesture if it had been anyone else, but with Booth it felt natural. I fell asleep soon after and had very pleasant dreams about the man who was no longer my 'just partner'.

* * *

I woke up the next morning to the sound of knocking on my door. Figuring it was Angela coming to apologize, I slipped out of bed (being careful not to wake up Booth in the process), put on a robe, and made my way to the door.

I opened the door to discover that my theory had been correct; it was Angela. "Sweetie, I'm so, so sorry!" She enveloped me in a hug. "When Hodgins told me what I said last night, I couldn't believe it. Well, I could believe it, but I'm so sorry I said those things in front of everyone we work with. I swear I'm never drinking at a Jeffersonian event ever again. Do you think that someday you'll be able to forgive me?"

"I can forgive you now, Ange."

She eyed me suspiciously. "You can?"

"Yes. Your actions allowed Booth and me to have an honest discussion about our relationship. We acknowledged that you were right about us and we spent the night together."

"BRENNAN!" She gasped, giving me another hug. "Oh my God! That's awesome! Was it wonderful? I bet it was wonderful."

I laughed at her enthusiasm. "Booth told me once that there was a difference between sex and making love, and now I understand what he meant. He's an excellent teacher."

"Wow. I knew it!"

"Bones?" Booth called out from my bedroom.

Angela grinned. "I'll let you get back to your Professor of Love. See you later, sweetie."

"Bye, Angela." As I closed the door, I heard: "I'll expect more details later!"

I walked back into my bedroom and saw my naked partner lying awake in my bed. It was a marvelous sight to behold. "Come back to bed, Bones." He patted the empty space beside him. "We can sleep in today."

"We're supposed to do partnership building activities with Sweets this morning," I reminded him.

"I think we can do plenty of partnership building right here," he said with that perfect smile of his.

Spending time with my partner in bed did sound much more appealing than spending time with Sweets in his office. "I guess we can reschedule." After making a quick phone call to Sweets, I gladly slipped out of my robe and into Booth's warm embrace.

"You know what I'm thankful for?" He whispered in my ear.

"The opportunity to work with a gifted forensic anthropologist?" I teased.

He laughed. "Exactly. I'm very thankful that you're my partner and friend and…"

"Lover?"

His face became serious. "I was hoping for 'girlfriend'…if that's okay with you."

"It's definitely okay." He smiled and kissed me. "I'm very thankful for you too, Booth. No one else has taken the time to know me as well as you do."

"It's been my pleasure, Bones."

I ran my hands along his perfectly toned body. "Speaking of pleasure…" And that was all I had to say to get my 'Professor of Love' to give me another amazing lesson.

* * *

**Thanks for reading! All comments are greatly appreciated. **


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